Warm Blankets

Posted on September 4, 2015

Today was a pretty big day in our journey. I visited the BC Cancer Clinic in Vancouver for my PET Scan. For those who don’t know what a PET Scan is or does this is what I found on Google to help explain it: Positron emission tomography (PET) uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers, a special camera and a computer to help evaluate your organ and tissue functions. By identifying body changes at the cellular level, PET may detect the early onset of disease before it is evident on other imaging tests. For this trip I wasn’t alone. Our Pastor texted last night and said he wanted to drive me down into the city. It was nice driving into Vancouver with him and chatting about life, church, and a lot of other topics. It was such an enjoyable car ride. We arrived at the clinic earlier than we thought as the traffic was quite light. We parked the car and headed towards the entrance of the building. I wasn’t too sure what to expect. The nurses in Abbotsford didn’t tell me much about my PET scan, so I thought we would be there no longer than a hour. I signed in at the front desk and took a seat in the hallway. About 20 minutes I heard my name being called, so I jumped up and headed towards the middle aged woman holding the clipboard. She came out into the hallway to inform Blake about the process. It was going to take nearly 2 hours for the scan to be completed. What? 2 hours. I wasn’t expecting that. Well, there wasn’t too much I could do, so I gathered my belongings and followed her through the large yellow door. I was told to change into my hospital gown and then was directed to a dimly lit room which I was told I was going to be spending the next hour or so while they pumped my body with radioactive material. I sat in the large, beige reclining chair and the nurse administered the radioactive material into my body through an IV. Once the process was over, I was to recline in the chair for the next 45 minutes while it entered my blood stream. What I enjoyed about this whole process was the incredibly warm blankets they put over my entire body while I sat there waiting. I don’t know if there is a greater feeling than having warm blankets placed on your body. I think I fell asleep immediately. I put on my music and closed my eyes. The next thing I knew, it was time to have my scan. The nurse led me from my room to a room down the hall with this enormous machine starring me right in the face. I followed their instructions and laid down on the table connected to the imaging machine. The nurse again placed warm blankets on my body and instructed me to lay still for the next 26 minutes while they took pictures of my body. This process seemed like it took forever. Twenty six minutes actually felt like an hour. My nose began to itch and my legs were growing restless. I just wanted off and this whole experience to be over with. Finally, the machine stopped. I sat up and was told to get dressed. I was done! Now the waiting game begins. My results will not be in until next Thursday, but I will have to wait even longer than that because my next doctor’s appointment isn’t until the 17th of September. So, until then, we will remain positive and believe for a good report.